LINDSBORG - Smoky Valley guard Rhys Pihl came into Tuesday night's MCAA game with Nickerson touted as one of the best guards in this part of the state.

Harold Bechard - The Hutchinson News

Tuesday

Jan 8, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 8, 2008 at 5:00 PM

The 5-foot-8 senior didn't disappoint with a 25-point, seven-rebound effort.

But Nickerson guard Arielle Borecky was up to the challenge, matching Pihl point for point as the Panthers won 52-47.

Borecky, a 5-5 junior, scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds of her own as the Panthers won for the third time after the Christmas break to improve to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.

"There is not an easy game in this league," said Nickerson coach Larry Bauerle, whose team used a 14-2 run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to come from behind a take an eight-point lead. "Our coaches talk about this all the time. It doesn't matter who you play. If you don't come out and fight hard, you're going to lose.

"This is a tough place to play. They are so talented and well coached. This is a special win for us. We'll enjoy it for a day or two."

Borecky scored 14 of her points in the second half. He two baskets are the start of the fourth quarter gave the Panthers a 43-35 advantage with 5:18 remaining in the game.

"Arielle was special tonight," Bauerle said. "She can be that way. We told her the only limit to Arielle is sometimes Arielle. You've got to give her teammates credit. They got her the ball."

Borecky was quick to credit her teammates when asked about her big night.

"I've been off the last couple games," said Borecky, who hit 9 of 17 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers. "I'd been the top scorer, but tonight, I just came out and my shot was on. My teammates were setting good screens and making good passes.

The duel was Pihl was a good one. The Smoky Valley star hit just 5 of 13 shots from the field, but killed the Panthers at the free throw line by making 14 of 16. After scoring nine points in the first quarter, Pihl missed all four of her attempts in the second quarter and added just one point.

But, in the second half, Pihl made 11 of 12 free throws and added a pair of field goals.

As far as the match-up against Pihl, Borecky said it's just a matter of confidence.

"Coach told me she's not so much better, it's just she has such much more confidence and he said that's what I need to have," Borecky said. "I just went out there and played with all I had."

Smoky Valley, which dropped to 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the MCAA, got within four points twice in the fourth quarter, but never any closer. Baskets by Amanda Heath and Chelsea Childs stemmed the tide both times.

"It started on the defensive end," said Bauerle. "We talked about that, and one of the keys was we had to weather their runs because with their scorers, they're going to get some points. We just had to keep our heads in it and make some stops."

l Smoky Valley boys 52, Nickerson 45 - The Panthers held high-scoring Chase Dippel in check for much of the night, but the 6-1 junior went off with a 15-point third quarter as the Vikings grabbed control of the game.

Dippel, who scored 57 points in a game before Christmas, bombed in three 3-pointers in the final 92 seconds of the third quarter to give Smoky Valley a 38-30 lead.

Nickerson, which dropped to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the MCAA, trailed by 11 points (45-34) with 4:36 remaining, but got within three (48-45) with 48 seconds left.

The Panthers struggled shooting the ball in the fourth quarter, hitting just 6 of 18 shots from the field and 2-8 from the free throw line.

"That really hurt us, we had trouble on the offensive end there," said Nickerson coach Ryan Duft. "We've struggled at the free throw line this season and we had too many mistakes in the second half."

The Vikings, who improved to 3-4 and 1-1, got a huge boost from 5-9 senior Eric Hawk, who matched Dippel for game-high scoring honors with 21 points. The two combined to make 7 of 11 3-points.

"That's what we needed, someone to step up like that and help us out on the offensive end," said Smoky Valley coach John Bellah. "This was a big win for us. I'm not saying it was a must win, but it was a big one against a very good Nickerson team that was playing good basketball."

Nickerson was led by senior guard Mace Krol, who had team highs in points (18) and rebounds (8). Scott Stroberg added 14 points and teammate Clay McConnell had eight points and six rebounds.

Despite the loss, Duft is pleased where he team is after eight games.

"We've played good basketball so far this year," Duft said. "We had a game last night (against Hillsboro) and that might have had a little something to do with this (game), but we'll move on."

The Panthers are at home Friday night against Hesston.

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